Wedding gift idea

Anybody need a cute idea for a wedding gift? I thought I would get a little creative for the latest wedding shower I attended...so here it goes...

I went to Lowe's and bought a long board, then got them to cut it before I left (which is free by the way) into the length I needed. Brought them home, and started painting them.



I bought some stencils at Michael's and...



used a piece of tissue paper to trace out my idea and make sure it would look okay on the painted board...


I did some touch-ups once I got to the finished product on the board...I had sanded the edges of the board with Justin's sander (did I mention I'm really starting to love using power tools), did a blotting technique with some of the paint and glazed the edges of the board.

It was a time consuming process but I really enjoyed tapping into my creative side and coming up with something hand-made for my friend (with a little inspiration from pinterest). I actually don't have a picture of the one I gave away...but this is the picture of the one I made for myself (because I had to have a practice one...and my sister sees the things I'm working on and ALWAYS puts in an order...LOVE YOU ABS!)


So...you get the idea...you can make it whatever color you want and do a little different design with script format. It was fun and has inspired some other projects I might tackle one day soon.

Baton Rouge Trip

We have been a little busy lately...hints why my posts have been kinda sparce. We went to Baton Rouge this past weekend and had so much fun..here are just a couple pics to narrate our trip...

Because Justin's parents and my sister live in Baton Rouge, it's always challenging to split our time evenly. So before we had Briggs we started this new system....we start off at one of their houses on the first day and spend the night. We leave the next day around lunch to go to the other persons house and spend the night. Then leave to go home the next day. It's worked out well because then we don't spend all our time driving back and forth between houses (which are about an hour apart).

Here are some pics from G-Maw and Pa-Paw's house. This 3-wheeler is one that Justin and Landon rode when they were little...Briggs seems to like it :)


G-Maw and Briggs. They gave him that hat..it says "I hunt for hugs"


And here are Abby and I ready to set off on our sister date to New Orleans. We went to the jewelry show for the morning. It was so fun to just get away with my sister and hang out. We don't get to do that often without the babies.


Abby brought Brooks to play with Briggs while we were gone. We are so thankful our families are close and get along good. It was great knowing that the babies could play together at my in-laws house while we were gone on a sister date.


While we were gone, Brooks (left) and Briggs (right) played with G-Maw and Justin. These babies sure are focused...


And now we had moved to Abby and Josh's house. Cade was added to the bunch. Couldn't get Briggs to smile (which is unusual), but he had an unbelievably large poop right after this picture which then lightened his mood...just thought yall might want to know that...hehe :)


We decided to take a walk to the pond in their neighborhood to take a few pics, feed the ducks and let Cade fish with his new fishing pole.



And then Cade caught his first fish with his first fishing pole! That was exciting and Justin got it all on camera...YAY CADE!


Here are the babies getting ready for the photo shoot. Briggs was checking Brooks out with that gatorade bottle...sometimes I wish I knew what was going through that kids head :)


And here is the cutest little picture of Brooks and Cade


Which Abby was having to work for those smiles...jumping around behind Justin...before we knew it...GUESS WHO JUMPED RIGHT OFF THE EDGE OF THE GRASS INTO THE LAKE!...it was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S!!!! and Justin of course got it all documented on camera.


THEN...we went to eat dinner at Sammy's and had some awesome fried pickles, mozzarella sticks, shrimp poboys and boiled crawfish...YUMMY! Then Brooks dumped a whole cup of water onto Abby's lap! It was awesome..and not her day with water...but at least she just kept on rolling with it and smiling :)


To end the trip...here is our little family pic. We weren't exactly dressed up..but just wanted to get a cute pic while we were all together with someone to take the shot.


As you can see...we had such a great trip. Loved getting to spend time with my sister, getting the kids together and seeing Justin's parents. Even though we swapped a stomach bug for a cold...it was great memories and lots of pics to show it :)

Scarves

I have tapped into my creative side since I have been home with little buddy. Thought I would share some of the recent crafts...

I have been knitting for a couple of years. I enjoy it but it has also turned into a little bit of a "side business" if you want to call it that. I don't know that I would label myself as "crafty". I mean I'm not the best at coming up with an original idea, but if I see something I like, I can usually make it happen (and sometimes with a little help from the hubs).


I have all this yarn...


I know...it's almost out of control :)


And now I have all this ribbon (Hobby Lobby was having a half off sale..so I had to stock up). I got the storage idea from here.

Sidenote: that's not the exact link that inspired this storage project but I can't find the original link...so if anybody knows it...message me and I'll update it. Gotta give the brains behind the idea the credit :)


Anyway..here is another angle. All I did was run to Lowe's and pick up some dowel rods ($.75 each). They cut them there for free. I found the basket at Target (under $5). Then just run the rod through the ribbon, put in the holes of the basket...you have yourself some ribbon storage. As easy as that.


Here are a few pics of some of the projects I make with the ribbon and yarn. These are scarves. I make all different colors. I have even made some REALLY CUTE LSU, Auburn and Alabama scarves (sorry...no pics of those at the moment). Because so many people wanted them, I started charging $15 a piece.

Thought about doing an Etsy shop, but my precious and much more wise husband talked me out of it. He knows me too well. I would definitely get in over my head if I had to start taking larger orders.


Here are a few more examples of my knitting. These scarves take a LOT longer to make...but they sure are cool looking. These cost a little more...$45, but they are very unique and they can be made in lots of different colors too.


So that's a quick glimpse of some of the projects that have been keeping me busy recently. I'm not trying to drum up business...just wanted to share some of my newest projects. But...if you saw those pics and you're thinking..."Those are so cute and I have to have one!"...then email me and we can work something out :)

Briggs' new trick

Thought I would share a video of Briggs' new tricks. He is so much fun at this age...Enjoy!

Healthy Eating

I'm not a big fan of new year resolutions (I mean who keeps those anyway)...but I am an advocate of setting goals and making changes to improve. There is always room for improvement. I know...I know...it's the beginning of a new year and everybody is making changes. It's really just a matter of semantics I guess...but I relate better to setting a goal and then it can be a more long-term change.

So who isn't trying to eat better. I think this is probably one of the biggest struggles for most people...me included. I thought I would share a few tips and healthy snacks that might help kick start your healthy eating.

First and foremost...GET YOURSELF A CUTE CUP!...I promise it makes all the difference. I have two Tervis Tumbler cups (pictured below) so I can always have one clean. They hold 24oz of fluid...I drink at least 2 of these a day and sometimes more....of WATER. When it's a cute cup, it makes you want to drink out of it.

I haven't always been a water drinker. When I started making the change a few years ago...I started by adding those little sugar-free Crystal Light flavor packets to it, then I started just adding a little flavor with a squirt of lemon juice. Finally, I transitioned to making it really cold with a lot of ice. Now, I can drink water at any temperature. I actually can get it down better when it is room temperature or cold from coming out of the frig.

I will say...I drink a coke when I want one, but I try to keep it to a minimum. I found this article and thought it was interesting to inform us all of what is actually in a carbonated beverage. I'm a big fan...most things are fine in moderation...just be informed of what you are putting into your body.


And...read your labels. Most people would say yogurt is healthy. And if you're comparing it to ice cream...it is! But there are also different types of yogurt. Most is very high in sugar content. The new thing now is greek yogurt. I will say...it's an acquired taste, or at least it was for me. It's more the consistency of sour cream and definitely more bland, but I've grown to love it.

As you can see...I'm comparing the Publix brand of Regular Yogurt to Voskos Greek Yogurt. I didn't buy these just for this photo op. I do buy both sometimes. If I'm going to make a smoothie...I need something a little less dense, so I will use the regular yogurt..BUT...for a snack, I usually eat Greek Yogurt. As I said before...I'm not a crazy dieter, but I do try to pay attention to what I'm eating.


Look at the labels...EVERYTHING is higher in the Publix Yogurt (left) verses the Greek Yogurt (right) with the exception of protein content. Big things to look at are...carbs, sugar, sodium, protein. I'm not too big on having to hit a certain number, but as you can see...the Publix brand has almost double in everything especially sugar and carb content.

One good rule to remember...carbs and sugar...BOO, protein is your friend.



For a snack during the day...I "TRY" to pair a protein with a carbohydrate.

So the nuts (which have a little sweet taste b/c they are dusted in chocolate/cocoa) are the protein and the apple is the carb. The apple isn't your typical "carb" like bread or pasta...it's just a good "carb" meaning it's the natural sugar.


Here I have carrots (carb) and on the left is a mini package of hummus (protein) instead of ranch dip (right). Just giving an example of a choice that is easy to make for a healthier option. There are different flavors of hummus but it's packed with protein verses an alternative like veggie dip.


Ok...so hopefully I'm not the only one who struggles through what to eat and making healthy choices. Thought I would share some things I "TRY" to do. I have a lot more to learn in this area, but I do enjoy reading about eating healthy and learning new ways to do it.

Notice my key word...TRY...that means I'm not perfect in this area. I don't always eat healthy and if I want a cookie..I eat a cookie but I don't eat 10....everything in moderation is the rule I try to use. If I know we are going to eat mexican on Friday night, I'll try and eat healthier all week and then I can get that chicken quesadilla. If not, then I get the chicken soft taco and water. It takes a lot of discipline and there are definitely times I'm more disciplined than others...

Got any tips on what you do to make healthy eating choice?..let me hear from ya. I'm always looking for ways to improve in this area.

Tasty Tuesday - Shrimp and Corn Chowder

This is a yummy soup for winter time.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter (I only use half of ONE stick)
• seasoning blend (I used about half the bag)
• 2 cans rotel tomatoes (mild)
• 2 cans cream corn
• 2 cans shoepeg corn
  
• 1 can water (rotel can)
• 2-3 potatoes cubed
  
• 1 1/2 pounds shrimp (add last)

Saute seasoning blend in the butter while potatoes are boiling in water (until soft). Drain water from potatoes. Combine all ingredients. Don't drain. Add shrimp last.

Here is a picture of the seasoning blend. It's found in the freezer section. You can cut up peppers and onions yourself if you want...but this will save you some time.


Just wanted to share my trick...I only had one can of cream corn. I did have a can of regular corn though...so I had to improvise. I threw the can of regular corn in the magic bullet with some half and half and a teenie bit of sugar...this is what I came out with.

Can you tell which one I made and which one came from the can? It tasted fine..just saying..you really can't mess this up :)

And here is what it looks like ready to serve.

We usually serve it with Texas Toast, but you can just eat it alone and it's very filling. It also freezes well. So unless you have a lot of mouths to feed...you're gonna need to freeze some :)

CPR Training

I work in healthcare, and even though my hours are kind of sporadic, I do have to be CPR certified. This past week, I had to do some investigating on where would be the best and cheapest route to get recertified. The American Heart Association is the most well known place to get trained. When I called to get information, they explained that my card would be good for two years and accepted anywhere in the world, BUT it would be an all day course (9am-4pm), cost $110 and the first available class was in three weeks.

So...I started searching other options. I found some online options...like you pay a small fee, watch a video online and go to a certified instructor to check off on your skills..that sounded a little shady to me.

I called the Fire Department and GUESS WHAT...they do the course at the fire station, they are an AHA provider (which means I get the same card I would if I went to the source), only charge $5 (the cost of your card) and it takes 1-2 hours...SIGN ME UP!

{Photo Credit: DanOhh Design}

It was the real deal...classroom, stretcher with a practice dummy, air bag...the fireman who did the training did a great job. It was me and one other girl. I was concerned on why the time frame was so different from the official class at AHA. He said they show a lot of videos for the AHA which is why it takes so much longer. I have been CPR certified before so this was just a refresher course for me. He covered all the important stuff including child CPR and choking. Me and the other girl had to practice what we learned for 1 minute each individually and then show our skills for a minute together.

Here I am "fake" practicing. It's no joke when we were doing it for our skills test. CPR is hard stuff and I was seriously sweating when I got done after just a minute. I would encourage anybody to get this training. It's just basic life-saving knowledge. Especially if you have small children.

Sidenote: While I was there...I had to ask.

Why do firemen ALWAYS wash their trucks?

There are 3 parts to this answer:
1. They have to do a morning inspection of their equipment and truck to make sure everything is in working order. So they wash them during the process to make sure they cover the entire truck and it needs to be clean so they can inspect it accurately.
2. It gives them something to do because they often work 48 hours shifts (or longer) and they aren't out fighting fires that whole time
3. Back when fire trucks were first around, they were painted red which was the most expensive color of paint, so they have always kept them clean b/c it's a pride thing...even from the beginning to show they take care of their stuff.

Just thought I would share what I learned during my CPR training...don't say I never taught you nothing :)